NASCAR, Animals, Television: Race named for Duck Commander

FORT WORTH — The NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas is going to the ducks this spring.

Texas Motor Speedway on Thursday announced a three-year title sponsorship agreement for its spring race with Duck Commander, the brand of best-selling duck calls and Robertson family-owned company featured on the A&E show “Duck Dynasty.” The deal is for the spring race at the track.

The April 6 race will be known as the Duck Commander 500.
“This is perhaps the most unique sponsorship in professional sports because not only does this come with special branding, it comes with celebrity spokespeople that are followed by tens of millions of people every week,” TMS President Eddie Gossage said. “Fans will see members of the Robertson family and cast of ‘Duck Dynasty’ and all the rest during Duck Commander 500 week here at Texas Motor Speedway and we have produced some awesome merchandise that both race fans and Duck Commander fans will love. This marriage is perfection.”

The deal includes an option for an additional three years. Financial terms weren’t released.

“We are all big fans of NASCAR and have been all our lives,” said Willie Robertson, the CEO of Duck Commander, the company founded 42 years ago by his father in West Monroe, La. “It’s especially exciting to see our brand join to make it an awesome experience for the fan base and we can’t think of a better place than our neighbor at the Texas Motor Speedway.”

The bearded stars of “Duck Dynasty” were featured on the hood of Clint Bowyer’s car in a Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen last August. Bowyer appeared on the show in November 2012, in an episode when Willie Robertson brings up the idea of sponsoring the driver’s car for a race.